We’ve had two posts since yesterday on Hillary’s attempt to articulate a coherent policy on that rogue of rogue states, Burma. If it was not such a serious issue it would almost be comical. She called for ostracizing the notorious military regime — “Kick them out of ASEAN” — and the next day dangled investment incentives before them to try and change their behavior. It’s like watching a fish flopping around on a dock. However, this irony we cannot let pass. It was just yesterday that Clinton highlighted Burma-North Korean cooperation that would make any non-proliferation analyst do a double-take: The Washington Post‘s Glen Kessler began with this:
And just what, pray tell, would those concerns center on? How about this:
- High precision equipment tracked from Europe to Burma delivered to academic institutions with backgrounds in nuclear research;
- The arrest in Japan last June of one North Korean and two Japanese for allegedly trying to export magnetic measuring devices to Burma via Malaysia. These controlled devices are used in missile development programs. The material was ordered through the Beijing office of New East International Trading Ltd, based in Hong Kong. The firm is believed to be under the direct control of the Second Economic Committee of the Pyongyang’s Workers’ Party of Korea. The committee is responsible for the party’s military procurement; and
- The U.S. Navy spent weeks trailing the Kang Nam I from its North Korean port. South Korean intelligence suspected the ship was carrying missile parts and perhaps other technology to — you guessed it — Burma. Apparently the international attention (and the presence of the U.S.S. John McCain off its stern) dissuaded the Kang Nam I’s captain from docking, so it returned home.
And after rightfully connecting these nuclear dots on a proliferation map, what did Hillary say today according to the AP?
Positive direction?
